JP4964692B2 - Product sales data processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a self-checkout type merchandise sales data processing apparatus that completes a checkout operation by a shopper's operation.

  In mass retailers, retail stores, etc., a POS (Point Of Sales) system is used as a system that supports checkout operations in stores. In this POS system, a product code unique to a product is assigned, and a barcode corresponding to the product code is assigned to the product. Further, a POS terminal is installed at the register counter of the store, and the barcode of the product brought in by the shopper is read by the scanner of the POS terminal. By this reading, product sales data such as a product name and a sales price is determined.

  There are two types of POS terminals: a manned checkout type operated by a store clerk called a cashier and a self-checkout type operated by a shopper to complete his own checkout operation. There is.

  The self-checkout type POS terminal requires less installation space than a manned checkout type, can reduce the number of cashiers, reduce labor costs, and protect shopping privacy. There are advantages.

  On the other hand, the self-checkout type POS terminal is difficult to use for shoppers because it is difficult to use, takes time, seems difficult to operate, and was initially used with curiosity. There is also a problem that the occupancy rate does not increase easily, for example, the shopper becomes troublesome and stops using it.

As a countermeasure, there is an example in which a service point corresponding to the purchase amount and the number of purchased products is provided to a shopper using a self-checkout type POS terminal (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2006-330809 A

  Adopting service points can attract the shopper's interest to some extent, but it seems that it is still insufficient and the occupancy rate does not increase easily.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a self-checkout type merchandise sales data processing device that completes a checkout operation by a shopper's operation, and can improve the operating rate significantly.

The present invention includes a reading operation for reading a barcode of a product with a scanner by an operation of a shopper, an input operation for inputting information on a product without a barcode, a bagging operation for bagging the product that has been read or input, And a self-checkout-type merchandise sales data processing apparatus that completes a checkout operation including a payment operation for paying a purchase price, and a scan time is a time from the start of the reading operation or the input operation to the start of the bagging operation 1. Timekeeping means for measuring time, measuring time from the start of the bagging operation to the start of the reading operation or input operation as idle time, and measuring time from the start to the end of payment operation as payment time ; The total scan time for each checkout operation is determined to determine whether the total is within the specified scan time. And determine whether or not the total idle time in one checkout operation is within the specified idle time, and whether or not the payment time in one checkout operation is within the specified payment time And a receipt that is issued upon completion of the check-out operation while providing a privilege to the shopper when the determination result by the determination unit regarding the scan time, the idle time, and the payment time is within a specified time. And providing means for adding privilege information, and notifying means for notifying the determination result by the determining means regarding the scan time, idle time, and payment time .

  According to the merchandise sales data processing apparatus of the present invention, operations necessary for checkout operations can be performed by the shopper in a game-like manner, thereby increasing the shopper's interest and improving the operating rate. .

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows the appearance of a POS (Point Of Sales) terminal, which is a self-checkout type merchandise sales data processing apparatus.

  A main body 1 includes a display 2, a scanner 3, a card insertion slot 4, a receipt issuing slot 5, a coin slot 6, a coin slot 7, a banknote slot 8, a banknote slot 9, and a hand-held scanner 10. . A product placement table 11 is provided on the left side of the main body 1 for placing products that have not yet been settled, and a product placement table 12 is provided on the right side of the main body 1 for placing products that have already been settled.

  The display 2 is a touch-panel type liquid crystal display having an information input function by a shopper's touch operation, and is used for inputting a guide message for notifying the shopper of the operation method and information on a product without a barcode. Information input screen, reading information display screen that displays information based on barcode reading of the scanner 3 or hand-held scanner 10, and a settlement screen for the total purchase amount, deposit amount, change amount, etc. for payment work to pay the purchase price To do.

  The scanner 3 optically reads a bar code of a product that a shopper holds by hand. A shopper's point card and an IC card for payment are inserted into the card insertion slot 4. The receipt issuance port 5 is a receipt issuance port for receipts that are printed when the checkout operation is completed. The coin slot 6 is a coin slot for settlement. The coin discharge port 7 is a return port for fishing coins. The bill insertion slot 8 is a bill insertion slot for settlement. The banknote discharge port 9 is a return port for fishing banknotes. The hand-held scanner 10 is used when a shopper reads a bar code of a product by hand.

A control circuit of the POS terminal having such a configuration is shown in FIG.
A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 20 includes the display 2, the scanner 3, the hand-held scanner 10, a hard disk drive (HDD) 21 in which an operating system (OS) and application programs necessary for product registration processing are stored, and data storage. RAM 22, timing timer 23, receipt issuing printer 24, card reader / writer 25 for reading and writing data to the card inserted into the card insertion slot 4, and coins inserted into the coin insertion slot 6 The coin insertion unit 26 for processing the coins, the coin discharge unit 27 for processing the coins discharged to the coin discharge port 7, the bill insertion unit 28 for processing the bills inserted into the bill insertion port 8, and the bill discharge port 9 Banknote discharge unit 29 for processing discharged banknotes, product placement table 11 Such as the settled side measuring unit 32 for measuring the weight of items placed on the unsettled side measuring unit 31 and product table 12, measuring the weight of the goods to be placed are connected.

The CPU 20 has the following means (1) to (3) as main functions related to the present invention.
(1) Timekeeping means for measuring the time required for the checkout operation by the shopper using the timer 23. The check-out operation is a reading operation for reading the barcode of the product with the scanner 3 or the hand-held scanner 10, or an input operation for inputting the information of the product without the barcode on the display 2, and packing the product that has been read or input. Bagging work to be done, and payment work to pay the purchase price.

  (2) A determination unit that determines whether or not the timing of the timing unit is within a specified time.

  (3) Providing means for providing a privilege to the shopper when the determination result of the determining means is within a specified time.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 and the time chart of FIG.
When the barcode of the product is read by the scanner 3 or the hand-held scanner 10 (YES in step 101), or the information of the product without the barcode is input on the information input screen of the display 2 (step 102) YES), the time count t by the timer 23 is started (step 103), and the start of the bagging operation of the commodity that has been read or input is determined (step 104).

  Prior to the start of the bagging operation, only about a bag or a basket can be placed on the right product mounting table 12, so that the measured value of the adjusted weighing unit 32 is close to zero, and the bagging operation is started and the product mounting table 12 receives the product. Is placed, the measured value of the adjusted weighing unit 32 changes from zero. This change is determined as the start of the bagging operation.

  When the bagging operation is started (YES in step 104), the time count t of the timer 23 up to that time, that is, the time (seconds) from the start of reading the bar code or inputting information to the start of the bagging operation is scanned. The time t1 is stored in the RAM 22 (step 105). With this storage, the time count t is once cleared and started again (steps 106 and 107), and the start of the payment operation is determined (step 108). The payment work is started when a tightening process is designated by a touch operation on the display 2.

  Until payment is not started (NO in step 108), when a barcode is read for the second product (YES in step 109), or when information is input (YES in step 110), until then The time count t of the timer 23, that is, the time (seconds) from the start of the bagging operation until the next barcode reading or information input is stored in the RAM 22 as the idle time t2 (step 111). With this storage, the time count t is once cleared and started again (steps 112 and 113), and the start of payment work is again determined (step 108).

  As described above, before the payment operation is started, the scan time t1 and the idle time t2 for all the products that the shopper intends to purchase are timed and stored.

  When the payment operation is started (YES in step 108), the time count t of the timer 23 until that time, that is, the time (seconds) from the start of the bagging operation to the start of the payment operation is stored in the RAM 22 as the idle time t2. (Step 114). With this storage, the time count t is once cleared and started again (steps 115 and 116), and the end of the payment operation is determined (step 117). The end of the payment work is when payment of the total purchase amount by the shopper is completed.

  When the payment operation is completed (YES in step 117), the time count t of the timer 23 until that time, that is, the time (seconds) from the start to the end of the payment operation is stored in the RAM 22 as the payment time t3 (step 118). . With this storage, the time count t is once cleared and restarted (steps 118 and 119). Then, a total scan time t1x obtained by adding up the scan times t1 in the RAM 22 in one checkout job is obtained, and a total idle time t2x obtained by adding up each idle time t2 in the RAM 22 in one checkout job. (Step 120).

  Subsequently, the number of products to be purchased this time is discriminated (step 121), and the scan specified time is compared with the number of products and the specified time setting table of FIG. ta and specified idle time tb are variably set (step 122). That is, when the number of products is “1”, “ta1” is selected as the scan specified time ta, and “tb1” is selected as the idle specified time tb. When the number of products is “2”, “ta2 (> ta1)” is selected as the scan specified time ta, and “tb2 (> tb1)” is selected as the idle specified time tb. When the number of products is “3”, “ta3 (> ta2)” is selected as the specified scan time ta, and “tb3 (> tb2)” is selected as the specified idle time tb.

  Then, it is determined whether or not the total scan time t1x is within the scan specified time ta (step 123), and it is determined whether or not the total idle time t2x is within the specified idle time tb (step 124). ). Further, it is determined whether or not the payment time t3 in the RAM 22 in one checkout operation is within the payment regulation time tc stored in advance in the hard disk drive 21 (step 125).

  Upon completion of the check-out operation, if all the determination results are positive and within the specified time (YES in step 123, YES in step 124, YES in step 125), a receipt R shown in FIG. 6 is issued (step 126). ). The receipt R has an area R1 in which normal sales information related to the current checkout work is recorded, and a scan specified time ta, an idle specified time tb, and a payment specified time tc, which are specified times, are recorded and recorded. It has an area R2 where the total scan time t1x, the total idle time t2x, and the payment time t3 are recorded, and an area R3 where the characters "discount ticket exchange" are recorded as a privilege for the shopper is doing. With this receipt R, the specified time and the actual time are notified, and the fact that the privilege is being provided is notified.

  The receipt R is not limited to that shown in FIG. 6, and as shown in FIG. 7, the word “challenge result with 4 products” is recorded in the upper part of the area R2, and the words “discount voucher exchange” are used. The word “congratulations” may be recorded nearby.

  The shopper can receive a discount ticket valid for the next shopping by presenting the receipt R to the clerk of the service counter.

  By providing this discount ticket, the shopper can be conscious of actively using the self-checkout type POS terminal, and the operating rate can be improved.

  If at least one of the determination results is negative and not within the specified time (NO in step 123, NO in step 124, or NO in step 125), the region R1 in which normal sales information is recorded, and the specified time And a non-privileged receipt R which has only the area R2 where the actual time is recorded and does not have the area R3 where the characters "discount coupon exchange" are recorded.

  On the receipt R without benefits, the words "discount voucher redemption" are not recorded in the area R2, but instead, words such as "I'm sorry", "It's a little more", "I'm a step further", "Let's do my best" Is recorded.

  In this way, if the time required for the checkout operation does not fall within the specified time, a discount privilege is not provided, and the shopper is encouraged to obtain a privilege at the next use. And can give the shopper a game-like fun. In addition, as the usage increases, the shopper's skill level increases and the check-out operation becomes faster. Therefore, even when many users are lined up in the self-checkout type POS terminals, the waiting time of the user is made as short as possible. can do. In these respects, the utilization rate can be improved. In addition, if checkout operations become faster, the turnover of shoppers in the store becomes faster, which can greatly contribute to the improvement of sales.

  In the above-described embodiment, the specified time and the actual time are notified by recording on the receipt R, but in addition, the specified time and the actual time may be notified to the shopper by display on the display 2.

  As a privilege, the service point for sales promotion may be added to the point card of the shopper inserted into the card insertion slot 4 without being limited to the exchange to the discount ticket.

  Alternatively, a service point may be provided unconditionally when used, and then a discount ticket may be provided on condition that the time required for the checkout operation is within a specified time.

  Furthermore, when the number of products is small, for example, “1” or “2”, the privilege supply control is not executed as the target of the privilege supply. For example, “the privilege challenge service is from the number of products 3 ・ Next time A guide sentence such as “Waiting for a challenge” may be displayed on the display 2.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

The perspective view which shows the external appearance of one Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the control circuit of one Embodiment. The flowchart for demonstrating the effect | action of one Embodiment. The time chart for demonstrating the effect | action of one Embodiment. The figure which shows the format of the regulation time setting table in one Embodiment. The figure which shows the receipt issued in one Embodiment. The figure which shows the modification of the receipt issued in one Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Main body, 2 ... Display, 3 ... Scanner, 4 ... Card insertion port, 5 ... Receipt issue port, 6 ... Coin insertion port, 8 ... Coin discharge port, 9 ... Banknote insertion port, 9 ... Banknote discharge port, 10 ... Hand-held scanner, 11 ... Product placement table, 12 ... Product placement table, 20 ... CPU, 21 ... Hard disk drive, 22 ... RAM, 23 ... Timer, 24 ... Printer, 25 ... Card reader / writer

Claims (3)

Reading operation to read the barcode of the product with the scanner by the shopper, input operation to input the information of the product without barcode, bagging operation to pack the product that has been read or input, and purchase price In a self-checkout type merchandise sales data processing device that completes checkout work including payment work to pay ,
The time from the start of the reading operation or the input operation to the start of the bagging operation is counted as a scan time, and the time from the start of the bagging operation to the start of the reading operation or the input operation is counted as an idle time. And time measuring means for measuring the time from the start to the end of the payment work as the payment time ,
The total scan time in one checkout job is determined to determine whether or not the total is within the specified scan time. The total idle time in one checkout job is determined and the total is within the specified idle time. Determining means for determining whether or not there is a payment time within one checkout operation within a prescribed payment time ; and
A privilege is given to the shopper when the determination result by the determination means regarding the scan time, the idle time, and the payment time is within a predetermined time, and the privilege information is added to a receipt issued upon completion of the checkout operation. and donor means that,
Informing means for informing a determination result by the determining means regarding the scan time, idle time, and payment time;
A product sales data processing device comprising: 2. The merchandise sales data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the providing means provides a service point for sales promotion as a privilege. 2. The product sales data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specified scan time and the specified idle time are variably set according to the number of products to be subjected to the reading work and the input work.

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